Measuring Sustainability in Supply Chain with Key Performance Indicators

Abstract: Background: The existing literature addresses the emerge of sustainability issues being one of the main concerns in organizations’ supply chains. Constantly growing environmental, social, and ethical concerns have increased the pressure of organizations to adopt sustainable business practices into their operations. Purpose: The aim of the study was to examine the current status of sustainability of supply chains and how it is measured. The goal of this study is to answer the research question: How organizations measure their sustainable supply chain performance with Key Performance Indicators? Method: To comprehensively answer the research question, a qualitative research approach was chosen, and the primary empirical data was collected through semi-structured interviews. Sufficient data was also gathered from companies’ websites and annual reports which is complimentary for data gathered from interviews. For data analysis, an abductive approach was followed. Conclusion: The results show that the sustainability in manufacturing industry is a growing trend. Commonly used Key Performance Indicators in manufacturing industry were identified and comparison was made between three companies, to finally find out how performance measurement is carried out in manufacturing companies.